Yet more sealant, Vicar!

[2manyoranges]

THe Grom’s gravel bike (Genesis Day One) had a naff front wheel with wrecked bearings (the bike was 85 gbp and had been neglected) so I put on a Hope 23 internal with Pro4 hub - set up the tubeless tape (TESA black, which brands pass as their own tubeless tape - it’s made in Switzerland) then switched the Panracer Gravelking 35mm onto the new rim. Tube in over night then out with the tube and in with the tubeless valve and sealant...60ml of Stans.

Some huge holes in the casing, which take a while to bubble and seal...but it all looks good.

Next morning, there’s the terribly sad sight of a tyre sitting in a pool of sealant, flat as a flat thing.

So in goes another 50ml and up we pump.

Next morning flat. So air in, bouncy bounce, swishy swish get that sealant all around. Nothing bubbling anywhere. Not at rim bead, not around casing. All good. I know the tape in 100% good and the valve well seated.

Next morning flat. Wonder if it’s the age of the the tyre even though tread barely worn. Order a new tyre.

Read that Gravel kings are one of the worst tyres to seat and seal. Drat. And I can see why perhaps...small vertical ridges in the mould coming up across the bead.

I pump up old tyre again but can hear no sealant in the tyre. I release the tyre from the beads and have a look inside - virtually no sealant. I wonder if these tyres are porous on the inside and just absorb the sealant. My Specialzed Butchers do exactly that. So in goes another 50ml of Cafe Latex from Mariposa effeto - not Stans. Cafe latex foams nicely Andy I have sealed freinds’ Problem Tyres well with it.

This time...it seals and holds.

Yet more learning in the world of tubeless....

 

[mdvineng]

An inner tube would have been lighter and more reliable

 

[2manyoranges]

Yep that’s what I was thinking at the time.

Then I think of the phone call from the Grom on the way to college ‘…I have a flat…’ ‘do you have a tube with you?’ ‘No’. ‘do you have a pump’ ‘yes’ ‘do you have a repair kit’ ‘no‘. Oh dear. Late. Very late.

Contrast puncture number three in front tyre….sealant spraying for ten seconds then sealed. At college on time….

 

[2manyoranges]

An inner tube would have been lighter and more reliable

You got me thinking about weight.

Tube for 29er = around 170 grams for a ‘welter weight’ Maxxis tube.

Tubeless valve = 5g
120 ml of sealant = around 120g

That makes 125g
Lightweight tube 170g

at least 50 saving on rotating mass per wheel.

..which is interesting.

Tyre performance off road much improved by going tubeless - more grip.

 

[tintin40]

You got me thinking about weight.

Tube for 29er = around 170 grams for a ‘welter weight’ Maxxis tube.

Tubeless valve = 5g
120 ml of sealant = around 120g

That makes 125g
Lightweight tube 170g

at least 50 saving on rotating mass per wheel.

..which is interesting.

Tyre performance off road much improved by going tubeless - more grip.

https://r2-bike.com/TUBOLITO-Tube-29-Tubo-MTB-SV-42-mm
https://www.highonbikes.com/collect...ito-tubo-mtb-innertube?variant=35794110742690
unless you buy these tubes. 81 grams.

 

[2manyoranges]

https://r2-bike.com/TUBOLITO-Tube-29-Tubo-MTB-SV-42-mm
https://www.highonbikes.com/collect...ito-tubo-mtb-innertube?variant=35794110742690
unless you buy these tubes. 81 grams.

Indeed

But YIKES the price

when I used AirB lighweight tubes (i know they are ancient tech now) I had SO many punctures and weird blowouts.

 

[tintin40]

I think there is space in this inter

Indeed

But YIKES the price

when I used AirB lighweight tubes (i know they are ancient tech now) I had SO many punctures and weird blowouts.

I agree with you these non rubber tubes. I had a blue coloured type that would deflate with out moving! The orange ones/ clear/ green all do seem to have odd times to deflate. But of the options open to me I'll stick with inner tubes and while I have the spare cash I'll buy the orange. I've/ we've all been on ride when the puncture demons are out in the woods playing. Tubesless looks to me to be the bigger pain when punctures happen.

 

[2manyoranges]

I think there is space in this inter

I agree with you these non rubber tubes. I had a blue coloured type that would deflate with out moving! The orange ones/ clear/ green all do seem to have odd times to deflate. But of the options open to me I'll stick with inner tubes and while I have the spare cash I'll buy the orange. I've/ we've all been on ride when the puncture demons are out in the woods playing. Tubesless looks to me to be the bigger pain when punctures happen.

Interesting.

And there’s a hidden problem with tubeless which particularly affects roadies (you know who you are…)….when you run tubeless you actually over months pick up things which would otherwise cause a slow or fast puncture (thorns, flint shards, glass fragments) but the sealant works, and close the hole. Sometimes with the shard/thorn etc still well and truly in the tyre. As rider you can be completely unaware that this has happened, since the sealing can be more or less instant. BUT….if you then have a puncture which cannot be sealed with fluid, a dart or insert, then it frequently is the case that you put a tube in (a horribly messy affair) and yes, 100m down the road the tube punctures from the captive sharp things and down it goes. And good luck with putting a patch on. And finding the embedded thing in the casing. I know, I have been there, and had the walk of shame, in my case a Walk of Shame off the mountain.

 

[clubby]

https://r2-bike.com/TUBOLITO-Tube-29-Tubo-MTB-SV-42-mm
https://www.highonbikes.com/collect...ito-tubo-mtb-innertube?variant=35794110742690
unless you buy these tubes. 81 grams.

I’d be expecting a tyre for that price!

@tintin40 you are not wrong that tubeless can be a bigger pain than tubes when they do puncture, but the huge upside is that you hardly ever get punctures in the first place. I’ve picked a number of thorns out at tyre change time that I’ve never noticed. Each one of these would have been a punctured tube at the time. Bigger holes are easily fixed with a Dynaplug. Last one I did was on a friends bike. Puncture initially sealed but kept losing a bit of air as we rode along. Stuck a plug-in, pumped it up and it’s still holding a year later.
Only one I’ve not been able to fix on ride was a 5mm long slice from a packing staple on road tubeless. Plug just blew out at 60psi but held enough air to get me back to house. Cleaned up sealant, stuck on a patch to the inside and it’s been fine for two years.

@2manyoranges I find it best to go for a ride straight away when setting up tubeless. Gets all the sealant forced into all the nooks and crannies. Also helps the bead settle nicely. Spinning the wheel in the garage doesn’t really distribute the sealant very evenly for long enough.

 

[2manyoranges]

I’d be expecting a tyre for that price!

@tintin40 you are not wrong that tubeless can be a bigger pain than tubes when they do puncture, but the huge upside is that you hardly ever get punctures in the first place. I’ve picked a number of thorns out at tyre change time that I’ve never noticed. Each one of these would have been a punctured tube at the time. Bigger holes are easily fixed with a Dynaplug. Last one I did was on a friends bike. Puncture initially sealed but kept losing a bit of air as we rode along. Stuck a plug-in, pumped it up and it’s still holding a year later.
Only one I’ve not been able to fix on ride was a 5mm long slice from a packing staple on road tubeless. Plug just blew out at 60psi but held enough air to get me back to house. Cleaned up sealant, stuck on a patch to the inside and it’s been fine for two years.

@2manyoranges I find it best to go for a ride straight away when setting up tubeless. Gets all the sealant forced into all the nooks and crannies. Also helps the bead settle nicely. Spinning the wheel in the garage doesn’t really distribute the sealant very evenly for long enough.

Hey - that is a very good tip - did not think of that at all, and I consider myself a sealant-meister……